Community Chat

[Cakers1]

It really isn't the subject matter that some find offensive; it's the reminder that we will always have the poor and the homeless among us. Some refuse to see what is right in front of them.

You don't find Jesus among the rich; you find Him among the poorest of the poor.

This is a stark and moving reminder - I do not find it offensive; I find it an important reminder.

Thank you.

[Marienkaefer2]

On 4/4/2015 Cakers1 said:

It really isn't the subject matter that some find offensive; it's the reminder that we will always have the poor and the homeless among us. Some refuse to see what is right in front of them.

You don't find Jesus among the rich; you find Him among the poorest of the poor.

This is a stark and moving reminder - I do not find it offensive; I find it an important reminder.

Thank you.

ITA, and I would also add that this reminds me of the Joan Osborne song:

What if God was one of us?

Just a slob like one of us?

Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home?

[Isobel Archer]

While I definitely agree that Jesus' message was in part - what you did for the least of these you did for me, the true message of the Easter season is what he did for us.

He gave his life to atone for our sin - not at all a powerless image. He is now seated on the right hand of God - he is not homeless - nor was he actually when he was on earth.

I'm not at all criticizing the artist, but this is not a depiction of the Easter message. There was nothing remotely helpless, hopeless or powerless in what Jesus did - or even in who he was while on earth.

Now is it a message of what we should be doing for others? Of course. Let's all take this to heart and reach out to others.

[lovescats]

Thank you for posting this and I know a lot of people don't like to click on links so here is part of the article

According to NPR, a cast will be installed on the Via della Conziliazione, the street leading to St. Peter's Basilica, if approved by the City of Rome. Schmalz visited the Pope in Vatican City in November 2013 to present a miniature version of his statue. He recalled about the Pope's reaction, "He walked over to the sculpture, and it was just chilling because he touched the knee of the Jesus the Homeless sculpture, and closed his eyes and prayed. It was like, that's what he's doing throughout the whole world: Pope Francis is reaching out to the marginalized."[1] Catholic Charities of Chicago and the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. have both expressed interest in having casts installed.[1]

Jesus the Homeless was designed by Timothy Schmalz, a Canadian sculptor and "devout" Catholic.[1] It depicts Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. His face and hands are obscured, hidden under a blanket, but crucifixion wounds on his feet reveal his identity.[1] The statues has been described as a "visual translation" of the Gospel of Matthew passage in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me".[1] Schmalz intended for the bronze sculpture to be provocative, admitting, "That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do. It's meant to challenge people."[1] He offered the first casts to St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, but both churches declined.[1] One spokesperson for St. Michael's said the church declined because appreciation "was not unanimous" and it was undergoing restoration. The cast intended for St. Michael's was installed at the Jesuit School of Theology at the University of Toronto. Similarly, a spokesperson for St. Patrick's complimented the work but declined purchasing the cast due to ongoing renovations.[1]

[Toppers]

Terrier, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I think that it is beautiful, and that it is very moving. If it makes people think and talk about it, then so much the better. I believe that that was what the artist intended.

[Toppers]

On 4/4/2015 terrier3 said:

On 4/4/2015 TaxyLady said:

Why in the world do people insist on Jesus being homeless. He had a perfectly good middle class home in Nazareth for 30 years. He chose to do His ministry for 3 years and even then he was no more homeless than anyone who travels. He did say in one town where they rejected his teachings that the Son of God did not have a place to lay His head. But He was hardly homeless and this was only one incident. Even in the wilderness the Angels ministered to Him.

To depict Jesus in this way is horrible and offensive and absolutely untrue.

He was a traveling itinerant preacher with no home, no wife and no children.

He lived among the poorest of the poor, the outcasts and the rejected. He was poor himself.

I agree with you, Terrier.

[Toppers]

On 4/4/2015 Cakers1 said:

It really isn't the subject matter that some find offensive; it's the reminder that we will always have the poor and the homeless among us. Some refuse to see what is right in front of them.

You don't find Jesus among the rich; you find Him among the poorest of the poor.

This is a stark and moving reminder - I do not find it offensive; I find it an important reminder.

Thank you.

I appreciate what you said, Cakers.